Music

The Song’s Legacy Goes On and On and On and On

Twenty-nine years later, “Don’t Stop Believin’” has become the world’s biggest cross-format song of all-time

by Josh Kurp   |   Jul 31, 2010

The Song’s Legacy Goes On and On and On and On

We won’t (Photo: alykat, via Flickr)

| | More

A few weeks ago, I spoke to Constantine Maroulis shortly before he was scheduled to sing with the rest of his Rock of Ages cast in Bryant Park. After going through some general inquiries about the musical, I got to one of the questions I really wanted to ask him: Why the hell is “Don’t Stop Believin’” still so popular?

Don’t get me wrong, I love the song—not in an ironic way, either—and I agree with Constantine when he said, “The simple piano intro, the fantastic vocals, a great melody, the inspirational message, the just-enough level of cheese in there that makes it so universal and so appealing; it’s all so recognizable right away. It’s just got the hooks, man.” He should know: For the past four years years, Constantine has sung it at the end of every Rock of Ages performance.

Twenty-nine years ago today, the album the song first appeared on, Escape, was released. It was Journey’s eighth album and has sold roughly eight million copies, second best of their career behind only Greatest Hits (15x). “Don’t Stop Believin’” was the album’s first single and it peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (“Who’s Crying Now” and “Open Arms,” also on Escape, hit #4 and #2, respectively).

The Sopranos and Glee get most of the credit for reviving the song, and while they did make it mainstream again and, in the Sopranos case, make it seem legitimately good, the credit for bringing it back into the public sphere belongs elsewhere. Certainly Rock of Ages did their part, but its first major inclusion in something pop culture-related was 1998′s The Wedding Singer.

In a Los Angeles Times article about the song last year, Journey’s keyboard player, Jonathan Cain, said, “Adam Sandler didn’t actually sing it, but there was this little string quartet playing it, and that was the beginning. Who knew?” Adam, I guess. Since then, it’s become the top-selling iTunes song not released in the 20th century and has re-charted in the U.K.

Now, “Don’t Stop Believin’” is the most important cross-format song of all time, because no matter where you are or what you’re listening, watching, playing or even reading, there’s a good chance you’ll hear about the “small town girl, living in a lonely world.”

TV

  • Scrubs, “My Journey” (2003)
  • Cold Case, “Schadenfreude” (2005)
  • Family Guy, “Don’t Make Me Over” (2005)
  • Laguna Beach, “Since You Been Gone” (2005)
  • South Park, “Tsst” (2006)
  • The Daily Show, “John Oliver’s Journey” (2006)
  • The Sopranos, “Made in America” (2007)
  • The Apprentice, “The Croc and the Rat” (2008)
  • American Idol (2009)
  • Glee, “Journey,” “Sectionals,” “The Rhodes Not Taken” and “Pilot” (2009-2010)
  • The X-Factor (2009)
  • Dancing on Ice (2010)
  • Eastenders (2010)
  • Formula 1: BBC Sport, “The Bahrain Grand Prix” (2010)
  • Loose Women (2010)
  • Also: CSI, King of the Hill, SNL, Ugly Americans and Yes Dear

Movies

Theater

  • Rock of Ages (2006)

Music (Covers)

(There are about a billion covers out there, so we’ll just stick with the above for now)

Literature

  • Don’t Stop Believin’: How Karaoke Conquered the World and Changed My Life
  • There’s No I in Office: 4293 Meaningless Phrases to Keep Your Coworkers Smiling While Avoiding Actual Conversation

Video Games

  • Rock Band

Sports

  • Chicago White Sox
  • Detroit Red Wings
  • Los Angeles Dodgers

Parodies

Tribute Band

Various

In the Simpsons episode “Burns, Baby, Burns,” after the plot is concluded and Mr. Burns has decided that his son, Larry, is no heir apparent, Springfield instantly breaks out into a giant party, complete with booze, a man in a gorilla suit and Journey’s “Any Way You Want It.” Marge asks, “Where’s all that liquor coming from?” Homer’s response: “It’s a party, Marge. It doesn’t have to make sense.”

The same can be said for “Don’t Stop Believin’.”